Abstract A report by the United Nations estimates that closures of schools and other learning spaces due to the COVID-19 pandemic impacted 94% of the world's student population in 2020. At xxxxx University, most courses during the 2020-2021 academic year were offered remotely while some included a mixed-mode delivery mode when appropriate. In laboratory courses, however, a combination of in-person and online experimentation was a reasonable option. While simulation exercises are helpful in the learning experience, there is no doubt that hands-on experimentation is crucial to the learning process and simulation cannot be a substitution for the experience of building and troubleshooting a circuit on a breadboard. In Circuits and Devices, a sophomore electrical engineering course, a number of laboratory experiments were revised to accommodate students' needs while ensuring that a reasonable level of hands-on experience with electrical components and basic laboratory equipment such as power supplies, multimeters, still takes place. To accomplish this objective, the laboratory portion of the course included three hands-on experiments that students completed on campus, six experiments that involved design and analysis followed by software simulation, and a final project with an oral presentation. Some final projects included hardware and software while a few relied only on design and software simulation. This paper will briefly describe the experiments and provide details about an experiment that uses Multisim, a National Instruments Software package, and employs the Thevenin equivalent theorem to the analysis of a circuit with a dependent source. While there were several challenges, overall students were able to perform the experiments and successfully complete a final project. One positive outcome of this experience is the integration of Multisim in several experiments in a very meaningful way. As we prepare to teach the course in-person this coming fall, we expect to continue using Multisim but with some additional improvements. Most experiments this time will include two phases: (1) Students will complete a pre-lab that involves two steps, theoretical analysis and software simulation, and 2) Hands-on experimentation by building and testing the circuit in the laboratory.
Rafic Bachnak (Thu,) studied this question.